The best thing on Christmas morning is the smiles on the faces of your family when they open that awesome gift that took all your imagination to come up with.

The second best thing is The Drive.

Christmas is also my birthday, and that means I get to do whatever I want. After the presents have been exchanged and breakfast has been served, I always celebrate by taking my BMW out on the open roads alone - a brief opportunity to enjoy the open road and the exhilaration of M.

It was an epic drive through forest, highway and garden parkway roads. Lots of hills, curves, hairpin corners, and motoring awesomeness.

The M5 is a tremendous car for days like these. The crisp morning air. The roar of M Power resounding through the forest. The slip and spin that you deftly control while deploying immense power on the cold dew misted tarmac. The red and blue glow of the M HUD and its shift lights. The symphony of the exhaust with its explosions and burbles. The pleasure of knowing that the Beast is unleashed and at one with you - man, machine and the open road.

I experienced the same thing except for me it was yesterday! It's been pretty crappy weather up in DC and the NorthEast for the last few weeks. I went skiing out in Western Maryland this past weekend and it rained/snowed the entire drive from DC out to the west, so I had to take the Fiat Abarth.

Then yesterday after not having driven my M5 for the better part of a month, the weather finally cleared up and I took the M5 down to my parents house in North Carolina with the trunk filled with Christmas presents and sleeping bags.

I left super early in the morning yesterday to avoid any holiday traffic and it was all clear down the highway down to Richmond. People are still crazy on I-95 though. There were people doing 90-100mph without a care that 20mph over the speed limit in the State of Virginia can land you in jail with a charge of wreckless driving and a permanent criminal record.

I then took highway 360 from Richmond to the border of North Carolina. The VA State Troopers aren't as bad on the 360 but they were definitely out in force. I methodically caught several of them trying to catch me with my WAZE App and with other detection methods. I set my cruise control at 64mph which was only 1 or 2 mph over the 60mph speed limit and I even used the Speed Limit Warning Function in the iDrive to keep myself honest.

Once I crossed the border into North Carolina I let all hell break loose. The last time I went Wide Open Throttle on my M5 was when I tracked it at VIR. My experience was just like yours Stealth. I got to feel the full acceleration of my M5 with its straightpipes in all its glory!! That was my real Christmas present! Just getting to drive my ///M the way it was designed to be driven on an open road with not a soul in sight.

BEFORE YOU BUY YOUR NEXT BMW, PM ME FIRST WE CAN HOOK YOU UP!David Aviles: bmwdavid@icloud.com - Cell:202-262-2900
If you have any issues getting a hold of David PLEASE PM me, I'm available everyday till 645pm!

Inspired by Stealth.Pilot's xmas day drive, I decided to plot my own course today by looking up some of NorCal's ultimate driving road. Headed up to Napa and drove to Monticello Dam.

Lots of switchbacks, hairpins, and rise and falls.

Picture from the top of Monticello Dam - as you can see, California has not had a lot of rain this year. Water should be flowing into the tube and you can see that it is well below the waterline on the rocks.

Inspired by Stealth.Pilot's xmas day drive, I decided to plot my own course today by looking up some of NorCal's ultimate driving road. Headed up to Napa and drove to Monticello Dam.

Lots of switchbacks, hairpins, and rise and falls.

Picture from the top of Monticello Dam - as you can see, California has not had a lot of rain this year. Water should be flowing into the tube and you can see that it is well below the waterline on the rocks.